Abstract

This document was prepared by Sarah Bradshaw and Angeles Arenas, consultants from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), under the supervision of the Women and Development Unit, in close collaboration with the Division for Sustainable Development and Human Settlements with the ECLAC Subregional Office in Mexico D. F., under the project "Improve Damage Assessment Methodology to Promote Natural disaster mitigation and risk reduction awareness and preparedness in Latin America and the Caribbean" (ITA/99/130).

The paper analyzes the socioeconomic effects of Hurricane Mitch with a gender approach and proposes new analysis indicators for crisis situations that could better reflect the unequal status of women relative to men. The first part of the discussion paper presents key concepts in gender analysis and disasters in the context of the region and Hurricane Mitch. The following section considers the impacts, direct and indirect, and how they affected women, and an analysis of responses to Mitch in three phases: first, the responses of individuals and their strategies to tackle the crisis, the second the actions of governments and civil society coordination and, third, assistance for the reconstruction by international and national agencies. The final section attempts to unite the knots and challenges suggested by the analysis and presents some recommendations for the inclusion of this approach in future emergency situations and reconstruction and reducing the vulnerability of women today.